A Dark Longing
by JynxSohma
Summary: AU - Sasuke is gone, There's wounded all throughout Konoha. Shikamaru is out on patrol for surivors in the woods. An unexpected ally, and a journey to rescue a friend. -Adventure & Romance - Shik/Tayu
1. Hidden Melody

Amber hues flickered open, staring upward into the bright sky. Tayuya couldn't seem to figure out exactly where she was, the last thing she remembered was fighting that blonde bitch of the Sand and that bastard with the pinapple shaped haircut. she moved one hand to brush through her tangled red hair, which was mostly covered by her hat, one thing she could be glad about was that she still had it when it was painfully obvious she had lost the fight with those two. Her blurred vision began to subside but in it's place came a painful amount of pressure on her legs. As she attempted to move the pressure turned to searing pain, vibrant spots blocked her vision as she gritted her teeth with a fierce growl, her hands moving to the source of the pressure.

She tried to grip the object atop her, but it was too large to get a true grip on. As her vision cleared she was able to identify the large splintered tree that lay across her legs. The pain was becomming unbearable but it was already obvious that the more she struggled the more pain it caused. So after a few minutes of struggling and screaming in unrelenting anquish, she spotted the metallic shine of her flute. Hopeful, she reached for it, but pain seared through through her body once again. "Shit, just out of reach." She snapped angrily as she threw herself back to the ground. The rustling of leaves nearby made her snap to attention, carefully eyeing the surrounding tree line as another crunching of leaves was heard , somewhat closer than the last. _Did they come back to finish me? Is it Kimimaru or the others? _How embarassing it would be for the others to come back to find her pinned under a tree, helpless. Tayuya refused to be helpless even once in her life, now wouldn't be any different. not if she could help it.

She tried again to reach for her flute, but it was still a good foot away and the pain in her legs had nearly brought her to tears. Another Rustle of leaves echoed to her, they were getting closer. _Damnit, I can't get this fucking tree off of me, I can't hide, I sure as fuck can't fight. _Her mind was racing as the footsteps grew closer. She struggled with the tree, a low growl slipping through her clenched teeth as she reached once more for her flute . It seemed she was getting weaker by the second, her strength being drained with every muscle that flexed, every portion of pain seemed to sap the strength from her.

" So, you are still alive." A voice cried out from a distance. She recognized that voice, but she couldn't adjust herself to see behind her. The footsteps still grew closer until they seemed mere feet away, at which point the person stopped. It had to be that god damn pinapple headed bastard, yet she was in no position to do much about it. Tayuya slumped back flat on the ground staring straight up. She tried once more and found a way to look at the new comer. It was indeed the bastard with the pinapple haircut, staring lazily into the sky . "Yes, and gee let me tell you just how happy I am about that." She snapped back at him, but there was no reply. she laid and waited for what seemed like forever, her legs still throbbing with the brutal pain. She attempted to shift her head to get better vision. " Hey, Dipshit, Are you even listening to me?!" She shouted, her anger growing as he seemed to completely ignore her. He let out a low sigh and lowered his head. "What a drag..."

Shikamaru had been sent to check on the bodies of the Sound Four. He had verefied the deaths of the other three, but of course the red-head would have to live. He stepped closer to her until he could look down at her, and to the tree that lay nearly across her lap. "Well, I may be able to get you out of there, but you'll have to be patient" He said with a sort of bored tone to his voice as he shook his head and sat, legs crossed, and began to focus his energy. He would need quite a large amount if he planned on getting her out from under that tree.

"And who the fuck says I want help from a jackass like you?" Her voice snapped angrily at the near motionless shinobi who was knelt just behind her. Her anger began fuming and she pressed her hands against the trunk of the tree, her muscles twitched in dissapproval as pain once again scorched through her body. "I don't .... need help... from a weak... shinobi like you..." Her voice was sparatic, and hard to understand through her growls of pain and through her tightly gritted teeth. The pain continued to amplify, feeling like her entire lower body was on fire, but she couldn't stop.

Suddenly a hand was placed on her shoulder, bringing a final cease to the pain, though only because it caused her to stop moving against the tree trunk. "If you don't stop that, you're going to make your legs worse." Shikamaru said, carefully eyeing the girl that lay beneath the tree. Tayuya took a swipe at him, but only succeeded in causing herself more pain. Shikamaru shook his head and let out a sigh as he sat back once more. Tayuya was too busy glaring at him to bother replying, she could feel her anger boiling from inside her, she wanted to throw the tree aside and beat the living shit out of this arrogant shithead, unfortunately, she didn't even have the strength to release the seal on the back of her neck. _I don't even know why this bastard is trying to help me. _She tried to sit still as Shikamaru seemed to finish building his chakra.

"So troublesome..." He muttered as his very shadow began to move. Tayuya had seen his technique before, but something seemed slightly off about this one. His shadow stretched across the foliage littered ground and up to the tree that lay across her legs. It grew in width and suddenly she was able to hear the tree making a stressed sound. She could even feel the pressure being relieved from her legs. Her eyes widened slightly as she snapped her eyes back to the boy. Sweat had begun to pool on his forehead, his brows were furrowed with concentraion as the noise continued to grow. He looked up for a brief second, seeming to survey the effect he was having on the tree before lowering his head once again.

"This ... could get... messy." His voice was strained as he spoke and Tayuya turned back to the tree just in time to watch as the tree began to condense and splinter at random locations. "What the fuck do you think you're ... " before she could finish her sentence, the noise from the tree erupted and the tree splintered into halves, both pices of the tree seemed to slide off in opposite directions, crashing loudly against the other downed trees. Tayuya's eyes were wide with shock as she looked back at the dipshit who had just exploded a tree that was literally on top of her.

"YOU IDIOT!!! YOU COULD HAVE..." She had already begun to shout as Shikamaru let out a sigh and began panting from the physical weariness of his body. It didn't even seem he even realised as she stood shakily and seemed to move toward him. But a loud crack echoed as her leg twisted at the knee. Tayuya let out a loud scream as she fell to the ground, gripping her left leg as it seemed to explode in pain. Shikamaru shot up and moved to her side to look, but with the way she was flailing it was hard to get in close enough. "Calm Down! " He shouted, but to no avail, Tayuya couldn't hear a word, all she could see were bright flashes of visual pain in her mind.

Shikamaru used the last of his strength use his Kage Mane no Jutsu. His shadow shot forward, sliding across the ground until it met with Tayuya's. She instantly stopped flailing though her chest continued to shakily rise and fall with her gasps. "Stop moving and we can get you taken care of." His voice was low as he moved forward, kneeling next to her again and trying to inspect the woman's injuries.

"And why the hell .... should I trust you?" Speaking through clenched teeth again, that hateful tone never faltered, even as she winced when Shikamaru had touched her left leg. He again seemed to ignore her, just continuing to eye her leg. A moment later he looked up to her, and for some reason she found herself staring into his eyes. She couldn't tell what it was that made her seem to lose herself in those eyes. Shikamaru let out a small sigh and shook his head. " It's as I feared, this leg is broken and the other has a severely stressed tendon." Tayuya shook her head lightly, her anger beginning to brew again. Yet her anger quickly subsided when the boy moved over and began to pick her up. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She snapped visciously at him.

"I'm carrying you, what does it look like I'm doing?" Shikamaru's voice was a dull monotonous tone, which only succeeded in making her fight against it more. But before long, Sikamaru merely held onto her tightly and stood. To keep from having her head drag the ground, she lifted with him. _I'm too tired to fight back anyway. _She threw her arms over his shoulder with a small pout and laid her had against the back of his neck. "Before we leave..." She pointed over to her flute which lay under a small amount of downed foliage. " Please... don't leave that." Shikamaru couldn't help but notice her voice had softened, that flute was a major source of power for her, but he wasn't stupid, there was more importance to it than just power.

He didn't much like the idea of bringing her weapon back with them, but he knelt and grabbed it. Pausing a moment to eye it carefully before sliding into one of his pouches. He stood once more and began walking in the direction of Konoha. He thought for a moment of trying to strike up conversation as he walked, but a few steps later, he decided getting her there quickly, and getting her treated was of more importance. "Tsk... troublesome." Shikamaru shook his head lightly, and darted off at a full sprint in the direction of the Leaf Village... His "Prisoner" holding tightly to his back.

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** Well, that's the end for this chapter. I really do hope you enjoyed it, and don't worry, things should liven up a bit in Chapter two which I hope to have out within the next two weeks. Please Review this so I can learn to write better. Thanks again .**


	2. Ballad of Fury

**I didn't actually intend to include and finish Chapter 2 so quickly, nor did I intend on having it so short. But I had some freetime at work. Either way, shutting up now… I proudly present…**

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**Chapter 2 – Ballad of Fury**

The Sun had begun to set by the time the two made it into the city. Many of the shops were closing, the streets were getting close to barren. But even with that being true, Shikamaru didn't think carrying his now unconscious prisoner through the city streets would make for a very wise decision. Instead he stayed well above the city. Heading through the forest line on the outskirts of town, straight for the secret entrance hidden behind the 3rd Hokage's head, less than another quarter mile away.

The girls head had begun to slump over his left shoulder, and he could almost swear he felt the cool touch of drool once or twice. _But she is so much more pleasant when she's sleeping. _Shikamaru laughed at this thought as he curiously fingered the smooth metallic flute in his pouch. "Source of power," He muttered to himself. " Yet there's more to it." He finished as he stepped up to a large stone wall, the back of the statue of the 3rd. _I hate it when I can't figure something out, but I just simply don't have enough clues to go off of­. _He shook his head lightly and dug into his pouch for a moment.

A second later he pulled his hand out, within it he grasped a small scroll, when unrolled the scroll revealed and intricate seal. Almost like a spider web with numerous symbols on each thread. He pressed this flat against the rock wall, and almost immediately the rock shifted and slid off to the side. _That damn tsunade KNEW I would be coming this way. I didn't even know if I was going to come back this way. _His face scrunched lightly as he stepped into the doorway, which suddenly turned to the right and to a seemingly endless flight of stairs. "I hate it when she does that." Shikamaru mumbled as he started down the stairs.

Still carrying the girl, each step making her hair subtly sway back and forth. Shikamaru began to wonder if she had dyed it, used a jutsu to change it's color. _There's no way it naturally this red!_ He suddenly realized the strangeness of these thoughts and shook them away. The farther down he went the colder the hall became, his body had even begun to shiver lightly in disapproval. Trying to keep his eyes focused further down the descending tunnel, he noticed a light towards the bottom. But it wasn't stationary, the light reflecting off the wall was growing brighter and brighter.

Shikamaru stood still, making sure it wasn't just an optical illusion. Yet still, the light continued to illuminate more and more of the hall. A moment later the flickering light of a torch rounded the corner, with the tall stature of Ibiki Morino at it's side. The two continued walking until Ibiki was standing mere feet from Shikamaru. "Shikamaru Nara," His cold voice echoed down the long hall. " Not exactly who I expected to see. " Shikamaru gave him a quizzical look before motioning to walk around him, but Ibiki stepped in his way.

Shikamaru took a step back and looked up to Ibiki. " Is there a problem?" Shikamaru asked rather calmly, considering he was already in the process of sliding his hand into his pocket, retrieving a new explosive tag he had been working on. Ibiki however merely lifted his chin up and seemed to clench his jaw as he eyed the unconscious Tayuya. "What are you doing with an unconscious shinobi, Shikamaru, I do not believe you're parents would approve of seeing this." His words nearly dripped with venom, an obvious threat was being made here.

"Well, I apologize but you'll have to excuse it." Shikamaru's voice was filled with pride as he stepped to the left of the man, calmly dropping a small book as he made his way to the other side of Ibiki. " She's a sound Prisoner . I'm taking her to the Hokage." He stepped rather sharply away as Ibiki seemed to shift his gaze to the book. "Oh? And what do we have here?" His voice held a triumphant tone as he knelt to grab the book. "Best give the girl to me, Shikamaru, she may have information relevant to the attack or is it all in this book?" Shikamaru knew what Ibiki obviously intended to do with Tayuya._ Torture a woman? Has he no morals? No sense of honor? Even to gain vital information, that's a step too far _

Shikamaru could hear the joy at Ibiki's find, his eyes widening at the Jounin as he stood back up, the book in his hands. It was then that Ibiki noticed the tag, sticking slightly out of the books spine. "You should have given the girl to me, boy." A wide smile crossed Ibiki's lips as he threw the book at Shikamaru, but as the book flew towards him … nothing happened. The book fell uselessly at his feet, the tag pointing upwards. Ibiki could only stare in confusion and look up to Shikamaru's face, which now had a wide grin on his lips.

"You under-estimate me?" He smirked as he quickly stopped his foot on the tag, upon lifting it the tag's image had visibly changed. In an instant Shikamaru had stomped the book and kicked it towards Ibiki. The concussion of the blast was nothing compared to the bright illumination that filled the halls. Luckily Shikamaru had already taken off at a dead run. _That had to have alerted some of the guards, but I have no choice. Damn, just how troublesome is this woman going to be? _His mind raced as he continued running down the hall, taking turn after turn.

Unfortunately, He knew all too well that Ibiki would have already recovered from such a small blast. He stopped dead in his tracks as 3 Anbu Black Ops members suddenly appeared, quickly drawing there katana's and surrounding the two. Shikamaru eyed the three carefully. There was one trait of the Anbu… their masks. These three were represented by a fox, a bird, and what looked like a badger. He lowered himself to a kneel, still eyeing the three that stood ominously around him. Laying Tayuya gingerly to the ground, holding a hand behind her head until it laid gently against the stone floor.

She let out a small moan as her head shifted to one side and Shikamaru couldn't help but feel his body warm with a brewing anger. "Anbu or not…" His voice low as he stood once more, the three Anbu taking one step back and shifting into an obvious Taijutsu stance. " YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER!!" His voice was an incensed growl as he drew a Kunai and charged at the fox masked Anbu. He swiped at him but the Anbu easily dodged his attack swinging back swiftly with his katana. Shikamaru had barely been able to block the attack with his kunai before leaping backwards. _I'm being so wreckless . Think . Think . _He felt his feet make contact with the ground and lowered himself to the stone floor

His momentum helped him skid under the attack of another Anbu. His mind still running rampant. _I shouldn't be doing this, I shouldn't be so wreckless . _Shikamaru quickly used his Kage Mane Jutsu to controll the Anbu he had just slid past. He quickly mimicked a throwing action, which sent the Anbu's Katana into the Fox Anbu. Shikamaru retracted his jutsu and ran once more for the Anbu. _Why am I doing this? I feel so foolish. _This time he headed for the Badger, who he had just released from his control. The Anbu had obviously been taken by surprise at having attacked his own teammate.

But just as he neared the Anbu, the wall next to him seemed to explode, the rock and rubble from the explosion knocked Shikamaru and the remaining Anbu to the ground. Shikamaru could barely make out the sounds of the others, groaning in pain. He tried to ignore this, to stand and go to Tayuya, but as he stood he found himself face to face with the Hokage, glaring angrily at him, and the floor littered with bodies. " Tsunade-sama?" Shikamaru's voice was shaky and he was panting heavily. Ibiki, however, couldn't have chosen a worse time to show up, running around the corner, sliding to a stop with wide eyes. But who could blame him? Three Anbu on the ground, One unconscious with a sword in his stomach. The only two standing were Shikamaru and the Hokage, standing next to a giant hole in the wall.

"Shizune!!" Tsunade shouted, pointing to the wounded Anbu and to Tayuya. "Medical attention, Now!" Shizune poked her head out of the hole and nodded and three people from the medical division stepped forward. Shikamaru made a motion towards Tayuya but Tsunade put her hand up, now pointing at him. "The rest of you," She stated with a slight smile. " To my office immediately, I want a full report." Shikamaru smiled and bowed to Tsunade, only to notice a rather wet spot on his shoulder. _She DID drool on me! _Shikamaru let out an inaudible sigh. _I knew this would be troublesome._

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**Well that concludes this chapter. To be honest I'm a little surprised it happened so quickly. Too much free time at work I suppose. I wrote this all within the 6 hours so far at work. Either way…. I do hope you enjoyed it and as usual. Please review so I know how I'm doing. Another update should be available sometime between now and the next two weeks.**


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